As one of our favorite bloggers, JackieWriting, noticed Theo’s World has been on a brief hiatus! Early in the year, I took on a new venture–OWNER & CEO of Chartreuse By Annie. Chartreuse is my own line of all-natural, hand-poured … Continue reading →

“A really companionable and indispensable dog is an accident of nature. You can’t get it by breeding for it, and you can’t buy it with money. It just happens along.” –E.B. White Top 8 Reasons to Adopt … Continue reading →

1) Adopted dogs are mostly mixed breeds or “mutts.” Mutts have GREAT personalities and tend to have much less health problems than purebreds. You will also most likely have a dog that looks different from any other dog. Our dog is black and very dainty but is obviously mixed with a lot of different breeds. People are constantly asking us what kind of a dog she is so that they can buy the same type of dog!

2) When you adopt a dog, you are helping to save pups in need of homes and aren’t contributing to “backyard breeders” and puppy mills. You are doing yourself and the dog a great service!

3) Adopted dogs are must less expensive up front than dogs from breeders. You normally just pay an adoption fee from $100-$300 where a breeder fee can be upwards of $1000!

4) You can often times get a dog that is a little bit older and is housetrained. When we adopted Loretta she was 6 months old and was completely housetrained! It was so nice to not have to worry about housetraining her. She was also still young enough so that she could be completely obedience trained.

5) If you decide to adopt an older dog, that dog will probably have already been neutered by the previous owner or by the rescue agency. Older dogs make great companions and are often already trained. If they aren’t, a lot of rescue agencies offer discounts on training classes.

6) You are saving a life! Loretta was rescued from a rescue agency that had in turn rescued her from a high kill shelter in North Carolina. Her and her siblings were set to be euthanized before they were saved. Sadly, the south is over run with homeless dogs (and cats!) that need good homes.

7) Adopted pets seem to be more grateful towards there owners. OK, call me crazy but I have talked to a few people who have owned dogs from breeders and from adoption agencies and they all say the same thing: Dogs that are “rescued” tend to act more grateful and loving towards their master. Maybe it is the life they had in the past or maybe it is their “sixth sense” of knowing they were saved, either way it is a great feeling.

8) Almost all reputable rescue organizations will do a thorough medical examination of your dog before your adopt him including getting him up to date on all his shots. In most cases, they either have a vet on premises or have one that they use. You will know that your dog is healthy and vaccinated completely.